THE CRYPTIC: Mungo MacCallum
ACROSS
1. Answer: 50050100, a hundred unknown – advice needed! (8)
5. Small writer, all right at the core, it has been said (6)
9. Ancient mariner on a quest for noble gas and gold territory (8)
10. Irishman traded with English man for Tristan’s girlfriend (6)
12. Pet farce – everything came together to create a disaster (1,7,5)
15. Return to argue against a potato (5)
16. Sat pining unhappily for art (9)
17. Performed annual rut – but it’s not normal (9)
19. Vestige of a trail (5)
20. Some into conflicted reactions (5,8)
22. Game retreats – evil trap! (6)
23. Individual in a setting for drama – a very long time ago (5,3)
25. Dad, with a ship and directions, gets permits (6)
26. Nut with two drugs (8)
DOWN
1. Turkish official with rustic god – consequently the Lily of the Nile! (10)
2. Tramp against a general (3)
3. Fir cone withering on a tree (7)
4. Party game includes old city, imperial honour and phosphorus. It is held on Sunday in the army barracks (6,6)
6. Faint authorisation to return (4,3)
7. Join a lark – I’m playing on the mountain (11)
8. Require directions for journalist (4)
11. Mill creosote, locating a device to measure the shaking (12)
13. Putting monies into the NAB or the ANZ? Actually they are levees, not levies (11)
14. Female donkey reportedly intended valuation (10)
18. Material to send SMS message to French atoll? (7)
19. Doomed ship, like Hyperion for one (7)
21. End small summit (4)
24. A small, gentle snake (3)
Solution next week